“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” is an English nursery rhyme dating back to 1862. We all said this when some bully, or some insensitive friend, made remarks to us or about us. Even though we said it, we knew it wasn’t true. Words do hurt, sometimes more than sticks and stones. I was reminded of this not long ago, when a friend made a hurtful remark about me. If the remark had been true it wouldn’t have hurt so bad, but it was false. Perhaps a misunderstanding, perhaps built-up frustration, I’m not sure what prompted it, but it hurt. The words reminded me of Psalm 55:21, “The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart; His words were softer than oil, yet they were drawn swords.” I came away from that experience praying another Psalm, “Let the words of my mouth . . . be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord” (Psalm 19:14). If you watched your words this week, what would they look like? Join me in the watch.
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